Gate.



No. 703,382. Patented July I, I902. W. A. BYERLY.

GATE.

(Application filed Dec. 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

' Ryan UN TTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM A. BYERLY, OF BRIDGEi/VATER, VIRGINIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Np. 703,382, dated July 1,1902. Application filed December 14,1901. Serial'No. 85,982- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. BYERLY, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Brid gewater, in the county of Rockingham and Stateof Virginia, have invented a new and useful Gate, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to swinging gates of that class having means forthrowing the upper and lower hinge-joints out of alinement, so that thegate may automatically swing open in either direction, and is designedparticularly to improve the means for shifting the upper hinge orjournal of the gate,as set forth in my former patent, No. 644,275, datedFebruary 27, 1900.

In my former device referred to it is necessary to hold theoperating-handle until the gate has swung to its open or closedposition, as otherwise the weight of the gate would overcome theshifting means and return to its original position without opening orclosing. In View of this difficulty'or disadvantage it is the primeobject of the present invention to provide for locking the shiftingmeans during the swinging movement-of the" gate, so that the weight ofthelattermay'not overcome the shifting means, and to release saidshifting means when the gate is fully closed and fully opened, so thatthe shiftingmeans may then be free for operation to open and close thegate.

Another object is to permit of the gate being opened and closed by handindependent of the gate-operating means and to provide for automaticallylocking the shifting means by the initial movement of the gate when itis being opened by hand, so that the shifting means may not operate tointerfere with the convenient opening of the gate.

WVith these and other objects in view the present invention consistsinthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of-the claims without'departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyot the advantages ofthe invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gate having theimproved opening and closing means applied thereto. Fig. 2

is a top plan view thereof, showing in full lines the position of thegate and the gateoperating means in the open position thereof and indotted lines the closed position of the gate. Fig. 3 is an enlargeddetail top plan View of the gate-shifting means. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the shifting-lever. Fig, 6is a detail View of the locking cross-head which is carried by theshifting-lever. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the means for locking thegate in its closed position.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

To illustrate the application and operation of the present invention,there has been shown in the drawings a gate 1, which may be of anyconstruction, but preferably embodies a tubular frame over which isstretched a suitable wire fabric,so as to produce a strong and lightgate, which is mounted between the hinge-post? and the latch-post 3, asusual. The hinge end bar 4 of the gate has its upper end projected asuitable distance above the top of the gate, so as to form an upstandinghin'ge pintle 5, with which the improved gateoperating means is designedto cooperate. At the lower end of the hinge end bar there is provided ahinge-socket 6, which loosely fits a fixed upstanding hinge-pintle i,carried by the hinge gate-post 2.

For locking the gate any ofthe'usual types of' gate-latches maybeemployed. However, I have shown a vertically-swinging spring-actuatedlatch-bar 8, which-may bemanually controlled by an upstanding handle 9.The free end of this latch-bar is designed to operate in connection withthe locking means best shown in Fig. 7 and embodying a segmental member10, secured to the inner face of the latch-post 3 and having a verticalnotch or socket formed at the central portion of the rounded upper edge.Above the part 10 are the vertically-swinging gravity-catch members 12,pivoted to the bracl(etl-3,'which carries the part 10, and located atopposite sides of the notch 11, so' as tobe automatically raised by thefree end of-the latch-bar in order that the latter may passin'to thenotch 11, and thereby lock the gate against accidental movement.

It will be understood that the foregoing-deflange 15.

scribed parts do not form any portion of the present invention and havebeen shown so as to illustrate a complete gate and also to adequatelyillustrate the application and operation of the present invention, andtherefore may vary considerably in form.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided a metallic capor base-plate 14, which embraces and is fastened to the upper end of thehinge-post 2 and is provided at its outer or back edge with acontinuation or At the front or inner edge of the plate there isprovided a transversely-disposed bridge 16, and. near the opposite endsof this bridge are upstanding pins or studs 17 and 18, which rise fromthe base-plate 14 and engage the top of the bridge 16. In the flange orextension 15 are provided the arcuate slots 19 and 20, which are struckfrom the respective pins 17 and 18 as centers and intersect in thelongitudinal center of the plate. At the point of intersection of theouter edges of these slots there is provided a notch or recess 21, thepurpose of which will be hereinafter described.

A shifting-lever 22 Works horizontally across the top of the hinge-postand has its inner end projected at the inner side of the post andprovided with an opening or eye 23, which loosely receives the pintle 5at the upper end of the gate. At the inner side of the eye 23 there isprovided an enlargement or head 24, which lies beneath the bridge 16 andbetween the studs or pins 17 and 18 and is provided at its oppositeedges with trans-- versely-alined hooked projections 25 and 26, whichembrace the respective pins 17 and 18 in the normal position of theshifting-lever when the gate is in its normal closed position, asindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. It will here be noted that theshifting-lever is designed to rock alternately upon the pins or studs 17and 18 as fulcrum-points, and to guide the lever in its swingingmovements there is provided a headed guide-pin 27,which is insertedupwardly through one of the slots 19 and 20 and preferably screwed intothe lever, so that the head of the pin may lie at the under side of theflange 15, and thereby prevent upward movement of the lever. A lockingarcuate cross-head 28 is carried by the upper face of the shifting-leverand is located between the guide-pin 27 and the head 2et,the ends of thecross-head endingin abrupt upright stop-shoulders and the upper face oredge rising graduallyin opposite directions to the center of the head,which is the highest portion,'thereby forming opposite cam-faces, therebeing a vertical notch or socket 29 in the upper face of the head and atthe middle thereof.

A pair of ears 30 rise from the center of the bridge 16, and betweenthese cars is mounted a vertically-rocking gravity-latch 31, which ismounted upon a suitable pin 32, piercing the ears and the latch andlocated adjacent to the forward end of the latch, which is provided witha rounded or beveled head 33, the

rear end portion of the latch being the longer, .and thereby heavierthan the forward end,

so as to drop by gravity and engage either the notch 29 or one end ofthe cross-head 28 to lock the shifting-lever against accidental movementin a manner that will be hereinafter more fully described.

To hold the latch 30 normally out of engagement with the lockingcross-head, there is provided a trip consisting of a collar or ring 34,which embraces the upper end of the hinge-pintle 5 and is held thereonby means of a set-screw 35, piercing the collar and en gaging thepint-1e, and is also provided at its opposite side with a lateralprojection 36, forming the trip proper, which normally lies upon theupper forward end of the latch 31, so as to depress the same, andthereby elevate the opposite rear end of the latch out of engagementwith the cross-head, whereby the shifting-lever is normally in conditionfor movement in either direction.

For convenience in operating the shiftinglever from either side of thegate and at a suitable distance therefrom there are provided theopposite connecting-rods 37 and 38, which are pivotally connected to therear free end of the lever, as indicated at 39, and project at oppositesides of the gate. The outer end of each connecting-rod is pivotallyconnected to the adjacent end of a verticallyrocking bell-crank lever40, which is mounted upon a post 50 and has its other end provided witha pendent handle 51. It will of course be understood that each post 50is disposed at such a distance from the hinge-post as to form a stop tolimit the opening movement of the gate and is also provided with anotched keeper 52 for engagement by the gate-latch, so as to lock thegate in either of its open positions.

The gate-manipulating means is operated by pulling downwardly upon oneof the handles 51, thereby rocking the adjacent bellcrank lever 40, soas to pull upon the adjacent connecting-rod 37 or 38, and thereby swingthe rear end of the shifting-lever 22 toward the operator and upon thefulcrumpoint formed by one of the studs or pins 17 or 18, which is nextto the operator. By this rocking movement of the shifting-lever 22 theupper hinge-pintle 5 is swung laterally away from the operator out ofalinement with the lower pintle 7, thereby vertically tilting the freeend of the gate and raising the latch out of engagement with the keeper,after which the gate will swing by gravity away from the operator andinto engagement with the opposite stop-post 50, against which it Will belocked by means of the engagement of the gate-latch 8 with the adjacentkeeper 52. It will here be noted, as best indicated'in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, that under the'initial tilting of the gate the trip projection36 will be moved laterally out of engagement with the upper end of thelatch 31, whereby the rear endof the latter will drop by gravity intoengagement with the upper edge of the locking cross-head 2S and at oneside of the central notch 29, and as the shifting-lever continues tomove toward the limit of its movement (indicated by dotted lines) thecross-head will travel across the latch until the latter finally reachesthe end of the cross-head and drops down across the same, therebyforming a stop lying across or adjacent to the end of the cross-head, soas to prevent accidental movement of the lever by the weight of the gateduring its swinging movement to its open position. During the swingingmovement of the gate the trip 36 is out of engagement with the latch 31,and it is not again engaged there with until the gate has reached thelimit of its open movement, at which point the trip again moves intoengagement with the upper end of the latch, and thereby raises the rearend above and out of engagement with the adjacent end of the lockingcross-head 28, whereby the shifting-lever 22 is again free formanipulation in the opposite direction to bring the hinge-pintles intovertical alinement, and thereby close the gate under the action ofgravity. It will here be noted that the pin 27, traveling in the slots19 and 20, forms a guide for the lever and also limits the outwardmovements of the lever by confact with the outer ends of said slots.Furthermore, this pin prevents any material endwise movement of thelever, and thereby maintains both of the hooked fingers 25 and 26normallyin engagement with the fulcrum pins or studs 17 and 18 and alsoin engagement with one or the other of said studs or pins during theswinging movement of the lever.

Should a hog or other animal attempt to crawl beneath the gate, thelatter will be held from being elevated thereby by reason of theguide-pin 27 being forced rearwardly and into engagement with the notchor socket 21 in the rear edge of the guide-slot in the plate 14:,whereby it is impossible for an animal to tilt the gate sufficiently toraise the gate-latch 8 out of engagement with its keeper.

It is of course apparent that the gate may be opened and closed by handindependently of the opening and closing means, and when the gate isopened by hand the trip 36 swings about the pintle 5 as a center, andthereby is disengaged from the latch 31, which immediately drops bygravity into the central notch 29 of the locking cross-head 2S, andthereby locks the shifting-lever 22 and cooperating parts againstaccidental movement during the opening and closing of the gate, so thatsaid parts may not interfere with the convenient opening and closing ofthe gate by hand.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the latch 31 is heldout of engagement with the looking cross-head 28 when the gate isstationary in its closed and opened positions, so that theshifting-lever may then be free for manipulation to open and close thegate; but said latch is in engagement with one of the ends of thelocking cross-head 28 during either swinging movement of the gate, so asto hold the shifting means against accidental movement, and thereby toobviate the necessity of maintaining hold upon the handle until the gatehas been entirely opened. In other words, it is merely necessary for theoperator to give a quick pull upon one of the handles, so as to swingthe upper pintle 5 out of alinenient with the lower pintle,after whichhe may release the handle, as the shifting means is immediately lockedagainst further movement as soon as the upper pintle has been shiftedout of vertical alinement with the lower pintle. This feature of theinvention is highly important, as the traveler need not wait until thegate has been entirely opened, as the gate will continue to open afterhe has released the handle and is driving toward the gate, and afterpassing through the gateway it is merely necessary to give a quick pullto the opposite handle and then pass onwarclly without waiting for thegate to close.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a gate having a shiftablehinge-pintle,of ashiftingdevice connected thereto, means for moving theshifting device in opposite directions from an intermediate direction toopen the gate in 0pposite directions, means for locking the shiftingdevice at its opposite limits and also in its intermediate positionduring swinging movements of the gate, and means carried by the gate forholding the locking means out of engagement with the shifting means whenthe gate is stationary.

2. The combination with a gate having a shiftable hinge'pintle, of ashifting device connected thereto, means for moving the shifting devicein opposite directions from an intermediate point to shift thehinge-pintle in opposite directions for opening the gate, means forlocking the shifting device at its opposite limits and at itsintermediate position during swinging movements of the gate, and meanscarried by the gate for normally holding the locking means out ofengagement with the shifting device, and capable of disengagement fromthe locking device when the gate is moved by hand to permit the lockingdevice to engage with the shifting means to lock the same during theswingingmovement of the gate.

3. The combination with a hinge-post and a gate having an uppershiftable pintle, of a swinging device fulcrumed intermediately upon thetop of the post and having its inner end connected to the shiftablepintle, said shifting means being movable in opposite directions from anintermediate position to move the hinge-pintle in opposite directionsfor opening the gate, oppositely-disposed controlling devices connectedto the outer end of the shifting device, lockin g means mounted upon thetop of the post for engagement with the shifting device to lock the sameat its opposite limits and at its intermediate position, and meanscarried by the gate for engagement with the locking means to normallyhold said locking means out of engagement with the shifting device whenthe gate is station ary, and also capableof disengagementfrom thelocking means when the gate is opened by hand to permit the lockingmeans to engage with the shifting device to lock it in its intermediateposition.

4. The combination with a hinge-post, and a gate having a shiftablehinge-pintle, of a shifting-lever fulcrumed upon the post and connectedto the pintle, a latch pivoted intermediately upon the post, one end ofthe latch having a locking engagement with the shifting-lever and a tripcarried by the gate and normally bearing upon the opposite end of thelatch to hold the first-mentioned end thereof out of engagement with theshifting-lever.

5. The combination with a gate having a shifting pintle, of ashifting-lever connected to the pintle, a locking cross-head carried bythe lever and having opposite locking-shoulders, a latch having one endconstructed for alternate engagement with the locking-shoul ders, and atrip device carried by the gate and lying in engagement with theopposite end of the latch to hold the first-mentioned end out ofengagement with the locking cross-head when the gate is stationary only.

6. The combination with a gate having a shiftable pintle, of ashifting-lever connected thereto, a locking cross-head carried by thelever and having opposite and intermediate locking-shoulders, a pivotallatch having one end constructed for alternate engagement with theopposite locking-shoulders, and a trip carried by the gate and normallylying in engagement with the other end of the latch to hold thefirst-mentioned end out of engagement with the locking-head when thegate is stationary, and also capable of disengagement from the latchduring swinging movements of the gate, whereby the latch may look theshifting-lever.

7. The combination with a hinge-post, and a gate having an uppershiftable hinge-pintle, of a lever fulcrumed intermediately on top ofthe post and connected to the pintle, a bridge supported upon the postand spanning the lever, a vertically-swinging latch pivotedinterlnediately upon the bridge, opposite transversely-alinedlocking-shoulders carried by the shifting-lever and capable of travelingtransversely beneath the rear end of the latch for alternate engagementtherewith at opposite limits of the lever, and a lateral trip projectioncarried by the upper pintle and lying in engagement with the adjacentupper end of the latch when the gate is open and closed only to hold thelatch out of engagement with the locking-shoulders of the lever.

8. The combination with a hingepost, and

a gate having an upper shiftable hinge-pintle projected above the post,of a plate secured to the top of the post and provided with oppositeupstanding studs or pins alined transversely of the normal position ofthe gate, and also provided with intersecting arcuate slots struck fromthe studs or pins as centers, an arched support rising from the plateand disposed in front of the slot, a shifting-lever lying between thepins or studs and beneath the arched support, the inner end of the leverhaving an eye loosely receiving the upper hinge-pintle, and theintermediate portion of the lever being provided with oppositetransversely-alined hooked fingers or projections embracing therespective studs or pins to form alternate fulcrums for the lever, a pincarried by the lever and Working in the intersecting slots, agravity-latch pivoted intermediately upon the arched support and havingits rear end weighted, a locking crosshead carried by the lever andworking transversely beneath the rear end portion of the latch, theopposite ends of the cross-head being formed into abruptlocking-shoulders for alternate engagement with the latch, the upperedge of the cross-head being inclined upwardly and inwardly in oppositedirections and provided at its center with a notch or socket for thereception of the latch, and a trip device comprising a collar carried bythe shiftable pintle and having a lateral projection normally lying uponthe upper end of the latch to depress the same and raise the rear endout of engagement with the locking cross-head.

9. The combination with a hinge-post, and a gate having an uppershit'table hinge-pintle, of a shifting device mounted upon the top ofthe post and connected to the pintle, means for locking the shiftingdevice during swinging movements of the gate and mounted upon top of thepost independently of said shifting device, and means carried by thegate for normally holding the locking means out of engagement with theshifting device.

10. The combination with ahinge-post, and a gate having a shiftablehinge-pintle, of a shifting-lever fulcrumed upon the post and connectedto the hinge-pintle, means for limiting the movement of the lever, alatch mounted iutermediately upon the post and having one end in lookingrelation with the shiftinglever, and a trip carried by the hinge-pintleand normally bearing upon the opposite end of the latch to hold thefirst-mentioned end thereof out of engagement with the shiftinglever.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM A. BYERLY.

Witnesses:

G. 'B. J OHNSON, O. BAUGHMAN.

